Dinner With Mr Lovegood
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Neville enjoys fathers day with his girlfriend and her father. Then he realizes Luna isn't ready for the next step in their relationship yet.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

* * *

The Golden Snitch:

Nautical Ship Challenge: Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood - S.S. The Government Stole My Toad

Olivanders:

Father's day challenge:

Father: Xenophilius Lovegood

Additional prompts:

(scenario) family dinner

(dialogue) "Get out of here!"

* * *

Word count: 861

Beta:

Title: Dinner With Mr Lovegood

* * *

Neville wasn't sure if he was able to go through with it, fathers day with Luna's father was a lot of pressure. He still visited his parents often, but they didn't speak or judge him. He was sure Mr Lovegood would tell him he wasn't good enough for a girl like Luna.

"We will think of a code word," she insisted.

"A code word? What for?" Neville asked her curiously.

"If you panic and need to get out, you can use it and we can leave," she explained.

"Brilliant! I'm dating such a clever woman," he said with a shy smile.

She smiled back at him charmingly.

"What about the government stole my road?" Luna asked. Neville nodded in approval.

"Yes, that's not something we would just say in conversation," Neville replied.

"Exactly," she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"It's just a family dinner though, I'm sure my father will love you," she said encouragingly.

They reached the Lovegood household, holding hands, and Neville was carrying her bag over his one shoulder. She had chosen a bottle of expensive scotch for her father. Neville had chosen the worst day to meet the father. He had also been wanting to propose to Luna, and he wanted Mr Lovegood to like him. He knew how close the two of them were. He was planning on asking Mr Lovegood's permission to marry his daughter.

Mr Lovegood answered the door, pulling Luna into his arms and kissing her cheek. "And this is the young man that stole my Loonies heart?" He said turning to look at Neville.

"Come in," he said politely holding the door open for the two of them, and closing the door behind them.

"Neville, where is my bag?" Luna asked. He handed it over for her to rummage through and she pulled out the bottle.

"Happy fathers day!" She said in a singsong voice.

"Yes, happy fathers day, sir," Neville said with a slight cough.

Mr Lovegood smiled at the two, taking the bottle from his daughter. "This is such an extravagant gift," he said to them.

"A drink for anyone?" He offered. Trying to be polite, they both accepted a small one. They were sitting at the kitchen table eating. They were chatting and having a good time. Soon Neville stopped stressing and was just relaxing, enjoying the time with the family.

"Bottoms up!" Neville said with a smile, toasting with Luna and her father before having a sip.

"This woman is beautiful and smart and I love her," Neville was saying, he wasn't used to the booze so it was hitting him a bit harder than the Lovegoods.

"Sir, you did a bang up job raising Luna," he carried on. Luna was starting to blush now, turning crimson. Her boyfriend was going a little bit overboard and she wasn't sure where this was going.

"The government stole my toad!" she said suddenly.

"What?" Neville said in a stupor.

"I'll be back in a second," Mr Lovegood said leaving the two together in the room.

"We need to get out of here!" she said, already standing up to leave.

"We just got here," Neville insisted.

"Neville, if you carry on like this my dad will think you are planning on proposing to me," Luna said seriously, taking him by the arm.

Her sudden confession surprised him, and he was shocked out of his drunken stupor.

"Hang on, you don't want to marry me?" Neville asked her, just as her father was entering the room again.

Her face was red. "Neville, not now," she said ushering him towards the door.

"You two leaving already?" Luna's father said, pretending not to have heard the discussion that just took place.

"Yeah, we have things to talk about, sorry the visit was so quick," Luna said giving her father a kiss on the cheek. Mr Lovegood hugged Neville, and whispered into his ear without his daughter hearing it: "Don't stop searching, it's not over."

After the two left she hardly spoke a word to her boyfriend.

"What was that about, Neville?" She asked once they got home.

"I really thought this was the next logical step, why else would you introduce me to your dad?" Neville asked her ashen. He was flabbergasted with her seriousness, this wasn't like the woman he loved to be like this.

"I am not ready to get married," she said with a tone that bore no argument.

"I never said _now_, I just know what I want," Neville said, annoyed at her for not telling him what she expected of this relationship.

"We need to communicate in a relationship, Luna. I love you, but you need to tell me if you don't want to marry me," Neville said.

"It's just…" Luna started.

"Yeah, you're not ready," he replied, mildly irritated that he went and bought a ring already just to be told she wasn't ready yet.

"Neville, please," Luna pleaded.

"I'll be fine, I just. . . I'm going to Harry okay?" He asked. Luna nodded, it wasn't worth stopping him. She needed him to support her decision as well, so the least she can do is do the same.


End file.
